Alternative smaller capacity used bike to CBF , for around £4.5k ??

[RV06]

What recommendations is there for a used bike - no more than £4.5k , no more than 5/6 years old, that offers bettter economy, and is more modern, but is as well finished and practical as the CBF1000?

Mine is 12years old now, and im just doing an 8 mile round trip a day.   I would want about 40+ mpg, and that it isn't a RUST BUCKET! Everything  i read about xsr700/mt07/Tracer700/Versys is about rust!  The bike will live outside ALL YEAR, and is ridden all year.  THe CBF has a bit of rust on swingarm after 12years, and thats more or less it.  Also its very hard to find even these bikes for £4.5 k. 

I felt the NC750x might have held the answer but i think 54bhp will feel useless after the biffer. If im going to potter about on 54bhp then id rather just have a Triumph Bonneville , and go for soemthing totally differnet to the Biffer.

Im also very restricted by living in NI, as there's a lack of choice if you have a £4.5k budget, and don't want soemthing either far older than 5/6yrs or newer and cheap.!

[ushirlo]

cb600f hornet?
cb650?
fazer8?

mkII.....

[Slawcbf]

If it's only 8 miles I'd suggest a cb500x or f or suzuki sv650 al8, but the finish might not be as good hondas and there is no main stand option. I know it's a downgrade, but I'm in the same situation and think that if you want sth better on fuel a 500cc is the way to go. Of course you could get sth even smaller eg 125cc (extreme ), but you won't get abs brakes. On average cb500 would return circa 80mpg while a 125 about 100ish mpg(my cbr125 did 130mpg). For the older generation of the cb500 (2010-2015) honda offered more accessories than for the newer ones i.e. panniers, main stand and top box.

[phild]

Dealers are offering nearly new CB500F’s for that sort of money. New ones are going for below £5K.

Ours live outside, albeit, under a carport type setup. Dust cover and then waterproof cover works well for us.

Shop around and you’ll get a deal. 

[iaink]

Why don't you arrange a test ride on a NC750X.
I think you will be surprised how good a bike it is.

[phild]

On the other hand, four miles each way.......a pedal cycle?

Far cheaper than anything with an engine, and good for your wellbeing. 

[RV06]

The Cb600f hornet sounds like my ideal choice.. I'd looked into it before, but had since forgotten about it, as I have never seen one for sale.....the problem in NI is finding anything to buy!

The Cbf650 i have seen once - in the tricolour scheme.

Fazer 8 is beyond what is necessary for my purposes...

The only bike i could choose here from this list with any degree of choice in the matter, would be the nc750x of which there seem quite a few.... All at or excess of £5k though at the moment though....  I think it might be the next thing i try out... purely out of curiosity.

If only there was a decently made Honda version of the xsr700, then id be sorted OR a Hornet!   

[Hagar]

If you look around on the main land and find something I would recommend the Bike Bus to transport your purchase,

http://thebikebus.weebly.com/

They transport all over including NI.  I know that Guy Martin uses them as well as other known faces.

[kimbo8]

I would consider a Fazer 600 S2.

I had one and keeping it outside all year round with a cover (regular clean), using it as a daily commute of 44miles, no rust and similar quarter mile and top speed as the biffer, slightly better MPG, very nippy and great fun .

The only reason I moved to the Biffer was to start touring on a more upright bike with better carrying capacity. 

When i stop touring i probably move back to one.

Good luck on the search.

[davidjg]

For something completely outside of the normal range of bikes, you could consider investigating the WK (aka CFMoto) 650 NR range.
https://www.wkbikes.com/50cc_125cc_650cc_motorbikes.html
From their website they have a dealer in Belfast and are between £4500 and £5000 new with 2 year warranty  (the £5000 'touring' version has panniers and what looks like a more comfy seat) and have a few more hp than a NCC750X
Although Chinese, they use European parts like German suspension and Ducati fuel injection. Plus they have entered into a partnership with KTM to produce KTM  bikes for the Chinese market!

If you do go for a test ride on one, would be great if you posted your impression of it.